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Yoro Park is one of the most representative parks in Gifu Prefecture, incorporating the natural beauty of the Yoro foothills with Yoro Falls at its center, and rich in scenic beauty and history.
The park opened in 1880, the third in Gifu Prefecture after Shiroyama Park (Takayama City) and Ogaki Park (Ogaki City), which opened in 1873, in accordance with the park system established by the Meiji government.
Yoro Park is an urban park with a total area of 786,000 square meters, approximately 1,800 meters from east to west and 600 meters from north to south, located at the foot of Mount Yoro, centered on Yoro Falls, one of the 100 best waterfalls in Japan. It is a park where people of all ages can enjoy nature, art, and sports facilities throughout the four seasons, and where the scenery changes with the seasons as the walking paths are maintained.
This famous waterfall has been enjoyed by writers and artists since ancient times, and has been selected as one of the top 100 waterfalls in Japan. The waterfall is 30 meters high and about 4 meters wide, and the water flowing down the rocks is cool and clear, and its magnificent appearance is a must-see. Please come and enjoy the splendid scenery.
It is an artwork that can be experienced directly with the body, and is the realization of a 30-plus year vision by world-renowned artist Shusaku Arakawa and his partner, poet Madeline Gins.The work consists of two parts: the main pavilion, the "House of Extreme Resemblance," and the "Elliptical Field". The Elliptical Field is dotted with nine pavilions divided from the House of Extreme Resemblance, as well as paired hills and hollows, 148 winding paths, and various large and small islands of Japan.
This is a playground for children that makes full use of the natural terrain and environment. The site covers an area of about 100,000 square meters, and the main facilities include the Children's House, Children's Pool, Adventure Plaza, Suku Suku Plaza, and Nobi Nobi Plaza. Events such as craft classes and picture book readings are also held as needed.
From the official website of Yoro Park
In 1923, ten years after the opening of the railroad, the electrification of the entire Yoro railroad line was completed. In the same year, with the abolition of the county system, the management of Yoro Park was transferred from Yoro County to Gifu Prefecture, making it the first prefectural park in the prefecture.
Looking at the park guide map after this, we can see that the main road connecting the park and Yoro Station and the bridge crossing the Takitani were built, and a car stop was set up next to the Yoro-ji Temple. A zoo, an azalea garden, and tennis courts have also been built on the south side of the waterfall valley.
It was also around this time that advertisements for specialties such as Yoro Beans and Yoro Sake began to appear in park guides, and Yoro Park in the Taisho (1912-1926) and early Showa (1926-1989) periods was greatly influenced by Honda and Nagaoka's plans for improvement, and adapted to the development of public transportation.
On July 31st, 1913, Yoro Railway Co., Ltd. started operation between Ikeno and Yoro (between present-day Ikeda-cho Ikeno Station and Yoro-cho Yoro Station), and Yoro Station was built just below Yoro Park.
On April 27th, 1919, the Ikeno to Ibi and Yoro to Kuwana lines were opened, marking the opening of the entire Ibi-Kuwana route. Yoro, which had long been buried as a scenic spot in a remote mountainous area, was now a place of natural beauty, welcoming tourists from all directions.
In front of Yoro Station, souvenir shops, restaurants, confectionery shops, rickshaws parking lots, and transportation stores are lined up, and in addition to park information signs, a fountain pond was constructed using the water supply system for steam locomotives. The completion of the new entrance greatly changed the appearance of Yoro Park, which had been developed along the street.
It was in 1911, two years before the opening of the railroad, that Yujiro Tachikawa, a native of Ogaki City, planned to establish the Yoro Railroad. This led Yoro County and the Yoro Park Conservation Association to start improving the park to accommodate the development of public transportation in order to attract tourists.
In 1912, Seiroku Honda, who is known as the "father of Japanese parks," conducted a field survey and gave a lecture, and in 1914, Yasuhei Nagaoka and others submitted a reference book on park design.
The proposals for the Honda and Nagaoka improvements were very broad, including the construction of a circular road connecting the station and the park, preservation of the natural environment, installation of sanitary facilities, as well as facilities such as a zoo, playground, tennis courts, and viewing platform, installation of information signs in front of the station, creation of new specialties, and issuance of discount coupons and picture postcards.
After the Meiji Restoration, in an effort to preserve the precincts of shrines and temples, as well as places of scenic beauty and historic sites that were falling into disrepair, Japan's first system for establishing parks, the Grand Council of State Proclamation No. 16, was issued in 1873, giving birth to so-called Grand Council of State parks such as Ueno Park and Nara Park. Yoro Park is one of them, and is one of the few Grand Council of State Parks whose establishment history is known.
In June of 1879, Masayoshi Matsukata, a minister of the Ministry of Finance, visited Gifu Prefecture to give a speech on the promotion of industry. After giving a lecture at the Senzairo Ryokan, he accompanied Gifu Prefecture Governor Rijun Ozaki on a walk around the park and requested the establishment of a park. In response to his request, Ozaki commissioned ten influential people in Tagi County (now south part of Gifu Pref.) to be the founders of the Yoro Park. The promoters formed the "Kairaku-sha", a group of about 100 members, mainly local influential people, and realized the opening of Yoro Park in a very short period of about 11 months from the start of land surveying. After the park was opened, Kairaku-sha was entrusted with the management of the park, but the number of employees gradually decreased, and in 1897, the park management was transferred to the county government and dissolved.
On October 17th, 1880, Yoro Park was opened. The Kairaku Company led a grand opening ceremony, and fireworks were set off for two days. Many guests and influential local people were invited to the Senzairo Ryokan, and a chef from Nagoya was invited to give a banquet. At the ceremony, Mr. Ozaki, the prefectural governor, made a congratulatory speech.
In the newly opened Yoro Park, the Yoro Sermon Hall and Myoken-do Hall were built in accordance with the instruction of the Ozaki Prefectural Government to attract religious facilities.
In 717, Empress Gensho, an empress of the Nara period (710-794), visited Mino Province (now South part of Gifu Pref.) and saw the beautiful spring at Tado Mountain inTagi county (one of a county in Mino Province). Empress Gensho said, "When I washed my hands and face in the spring, my skin became smooth and the pain disappeared. Also, those who drank or bathed in the water had their gray hair turn black, their hair grow back, they could see, and their illnesses were cured. "This must be a blessing from the heavens." she said. Impressed by this event, she changed the era of the Japanese government to "Yoro" on November 17th of the same year. This beautiful spring is said to be the Yoro Waterfall and the Kikusui Spring in Yoro Park.
In 740, Emperor Shomu visited Tagi county on his way to the eastern part of Japan. The two Manyo poems written by his attendants give us a glimpse of his visit.
Inishie yu / Hito no iikeru / Oihito no / otsutofu Mizu so / Na ni ou Taki no Se (Otomo no sukune Azumahito)
(Translation)
It is a waterfall that people have been saying for centuries will make old people young again. The rapids of this waterfall have the name "Yoro".
Tadokawa no / Taki wo kiyomika / Inishie yu / Miya tsukaekemu / Tagi no No no heni (Otomo no sukune Yakamochi)
(Translation)
Because the waterfalls of the Tado River are so pure, perhaps they built a palace in the fields of Tagi to serve them.
Among the temples and shrines around Yoro Falls, Yoro-ji Temple and Yoro Shrine have been standing for a long time. The founding of Yoro-ji Temple is unknown, but according to the "Yoro-ji Ryaku Engi", which discribes the origin of Yoro-ji Temple, the founder is said to be Genjo-nai. The main hall was rebuilt in 1607 by Tokunaga Nagamasa, lord of the Takasu domain. In the old drawing "Gensho-in Yoro-ji Issan no Zu (Gensho-in Yoro-ji Temple, One Mountain)", there is a Tokunaga pine tree said to have been planted from Mount Hiei.
The name Yoro Myojin appears in the "Minokoku Shinmeicho (Book of Shrine's names in Mino Province)", although the origin of Yoro Shrine is also unknown. In 1909, the Tagiangu Shrine was enshrined together with Yoro shrine, and was also called Yoro Tenjin and Kikusui Tenmangu Shrine. The name Kikusui Tenjin appears on old maps, and the Kikusui Spring, which is said to be a beautiful spring visited by Empress Gensho, still gushes out of the shrine grounds.
When he was a young man, Kijuro Okamoto I of Shimada Village (now Takada, Yoro Town) wanted to develop Yoro, a remote mountainous area, and bought land in what is now Yoro Park to build an inn called "Senzairo". He also overcame the opposition of the people around him and started running a bathhouse in 1771. However, the business ran into difficulties and Kijuro I died in mid-stride. Later, Kijuro II consolidated the Senzairo and Yakuto into one location and rationalized the management, and the business performance recovered, but the third and fourth generations continued to struggle with the management. In 1880, about 100 years after the start of the medicinal bathhouse management, Yoro Park was opened. The lifelong efforts of four generations, including father and son Okamoto Kijuro, finally bore fruit in the late of 19th century.
